To Save a Life
by Mr. Alaska
Summary: What if the Jonins didn't get to Neji in time to stop the final blow during the Chunin exams? What if Neji struck Hinata down at the end of the match? How will Naruto react when he sees what will become of Hinata without help? NaruHina. Please review.
1. The Fallen Angel

Rating: M

Pairing: Naruto/Hinata, and more in the future.

Author's Notes: Hello, everybody. Mr. Alaska here, with a brand new story. But before we get started, I feel I should give everyone the lowdown. This story was inspired by Hinote Tora's I'll Never Let Them Take You. The theme of the story had it all. Tragedy, action, angst, romance, everything. So I decided to start a story like that on my own. I'll give you the setting. Third part of the Chunin exam, Hinata's and Neji's match, and right when Neji was going in for the final blow. And the other reason I'm starting this story is that I'm having some trouble with all my other stories. So….. Until I get my stories straight, I'll give this one a chance. I hope you all enjoy. And, just like always, please leave plenty of reviews. And if anyone wants to chat outside FF, contact me if you have either an Hotmail account, AIM account, or a Facebook. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the touching story about what SHOULD'VE happened in the Anime and Manga. PEACE!

Chapter 1: The Fallen Angel

The entire stadium, minus a select few, gasped as they witnessed Neji deflect Hinata's attack… and readied himself for a counter strike. Hinata tried to dodge it, but her strained muscles and lack of strength took their toll. Neji's attack connected. "HINATA!" Naruto cried out, as he witnessed Hinata Hyuuga receive a hard palm strike to the face. The person who struck her was her cruel cousin, Neji Hyuuga. Everyone watched as the Hyuuga girl stumbled backwards, with blood dripping from the side of her mouth and nose. Naruto's hands squeezed around the railing, his teeth grinding together at the sound of Neji's cruel chuckle. 'How could you…? She's your COUSIN!'

As his injured cousin coughed up blood, Neji smirked and deactivated his Byakugan. He dropped from his Jyuuken stance, and stood up straight. "Withdraw, Hinata-sama. You can't win… not now, not ever." Naruto's blood turned to ice when he heard what Neji said. But he turned from Neji, and looked at the girl across from him…. And his face dropped with dismay. Hinata stood there, looking down with blood dripping onto the floor. She had one arm cradling her left ribcage, and letting out loud gasps of pain with every breath she took. Her legs were struggling to stay upright, but one leg seemed to be buckling under the weight of her own body.

Neji continued as he stretched his arms in an insulting way. "It is said that leopards can't change their spots. That they're what nature intended them to be…. That's as true in the lives of humans as it is in the animal kingdom. No matter how hard you try, you can't change who you are. You're shy, you have no self-esteem, and you're afraid to inflict pain on anyone else. The Hyuuga clan wasn't built on weaklings… they were built on cold, hard, disciplined shinobi… which you're not." Rage began filling every inch of Naruto's being. "You can't change facts, Hinata-sama. Once a failure, always a failure."

That right there, was all Naruto could take. "YOU'RE WRONG!" Naruto's booming voice echoed throughout the tower, causing everyone to look in his direction. His hand tightened around the jar of healing ointment Hinata gave him earlier. "Anyone can change! Just because you say she can't doesn't make you're right! So don't go talking shit about stuff you know nothing about!" His dark glare went from Neji to Hinata. "Come on, Hinata-chan! You can still win this!"

Abruptly, Sakura's fist came down and banged against the back of Naruto's head. "Shut up, Naruto-baka! She's barely able to stand up!" A large lump began forming on Naruto's head, as Sakura continued. "Don't be an idiot! Hinata is practically DYING… and you still think she can win? Stop encouraging her to kill herself!" Naruto growled angrily as he shook Sakura's hand off his shoulder.

'What a loud-mouthed moron…' Neji thought bitterly, as he turned back to his opponent. "Just give up, Hinata-sama. If this continues, you will surely die." His tone had a hint of smugness and sadistic pleasure. Neji smiled evilly when he saw Hinata cough up some more blood onto her coat. "You can't survive as a ninja if you're always trying to be the peacemaker. You weren't meant to be a ninja…. This is my final warning Hinata-san. Withdraw NOW. The responsibility of the Hyuuga Main branch has been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness… but people cannot change. Our destinies have already been chosen for us."

He waited for an response. At first, Hinata didn't answer. But after a few breaths of air, she finally looked up with a frown, with blood dripping down the side of her mouth. "Th…that's not t…true, Neji-niisan." Hinata's voice was shaky, quiet, and would've been unable to be heard if the stadium wasn't already dead silent. After hacking up some more blood, the girl continued. "Be…because… y…you've got it b…backwards. I can see…. (COUGH) I can s…see that the p…person suffering the (COUGH) m…most be…because of the destiny a…and tension be…between the two branches of the Hyuuga Clan… is y…you, Neji-niisan,."

Suddenly… something in Neji snapped. His Byakugan fired up, the veins around his eyes pulsing with pure rage. Chakra started to radiate around his hands, as he abruptly dashed forward… with the intent to kill. The Chunin instructor saw this, and immediately dashed in from the sideline. "Neji! Stop! The match is over now!" But the enraged Hyuuga prodigy didn't stop. Instead, he just kept on charging. The instructor increased his speed, and leapt forward to intercept him. But at the last second, Neji used chakra in his feet to double his speed. And in doing so, Neji dashed right past the instructor. The other Jounin appeared on the scene…

But they were too late…

Neji's chakra filled palm shot forward, slamming into Hinata's chest. The chakra expelled from his attack was so intense, some of the chakra traveled through Hinata's body and came out the other side. Hinata's eyes went wide, and her Byakugan deactivated, fading from her face. Every muscle in her body locked up, as her vision became blurry. And for a few seconds… nothing major appeared to have happened. But suddenly, blood poured out of Hinata's mouth, as her body folded forward and slammed into the ground.

"HINATA!" Kurenai shouted, as she ran to her student's side. The woman knelt down, inspecting the unconscious girl's body. Blood was oozing out the sides of Hinata mouth, and flooded out of her left nostril. Panicking, Kurenai turned to the medical team who were still in their little corner. "MEDICS! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE NOW! WE NEED SOME HELP!" The medical team leapt in surprise, and rushing directly to Hinata.

The whole time, Naruto stood on the balcony, devastated. The blond boy stared in pure shock, as the medics lifted Hinata onto the stretcher. 'N…no… Hinata-chan…' Everything seemed to melt around Naruto, as a medic attached a portable respirator onto Hinata's mouth. His ocean blue eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. Even from where he was standing, he could see Hinata's face. She looked as if she was in pain… even though she was unconscious. And when he looked closer, he saw a single tear roll down her face, to mix with her blood on the floor.

Suddenly… just like Neji, something inside Naruto snapped. Rage once again filled Naruto's mind and he turned to Neji. Then, his eyes went from light ocean blue to a shade of purple. (Remember… Orochimaru placed a seal on Naruto earlier…. But Naruto is SO mad… the seal is only BARELY working. Just thought I'd share that with you.) "NEJI!" Naruto roared, as he leapt from the balcony with animal-like prowess, and landed on all fours in the middle of the stadium. With a savage look on his face, he bore his now enlarged canines at the Hyuuga and growled. "RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Letting out a fierce, possessed-sounding roar, Naruto jumped to his feet and charged at Neji.

But before he could reach him, Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei appeared out of nowhere. Asuma was behind the wild boy, holding both of his arms back. Kurenai was beside him, holding his ankles down. And Kakashi appeared in front of Naruto, with either hand in his shoulder. "Naruto….. CALM DOWN." Kakashi did his best to calm Naruto… because he knew what was happening to his student. 'Damn… This is bad. Kyuubi is breaking free…' "Naruto… Please calm down." Kakashi's soothing voice ended up doing the trick. Naruto was thrashing wildly at first… but soon, it subsided. His fox-like purple eyes slowly morphed back into his regular blue ones.

"Let me go!" While he was no longer showing symptoms of the Kyuubi anymore, he was still, nevertheless, out for blood. He yanked his arms and legs to break free from Asuma and Kurenai, but it was all in vain. Looking past Kakashi, Naruto watched as the medics carried Hinata's crippled body through the two large doors. Then he turned to Neji, who had on a devilish smirk on, which was Neji's silent way of asking, 'What are you going to do now?' The rage quickly returned to Naruto. But when his eyes started to change to purple again… Kakashi reached out and struck some of Naruto's pressure points. After that, Naruto's body became limp. Asuma and Kurenai released Naruto's arms and legs, allowing the boy's unconscious body to fall forward into Kakashi's arms.

****

(TEN MINUTES LATER)

'Uh…. My head!' Naruto finally awoke from his forced slumber, and sat up. He rubbed his head, soothing the sore spot where Sakura hit him earlier. 'What the hell happened? The last thing I remember, I was charging Neji… and…!' That's when Naruto remembered. His eyes snapped open, with a panicked look filling them. "Hinata-chan!" The first thing he saw was Kakashi, looking down at him. He soon discovered he was in the balconies again, propped up against the wall. "Kakashi-sensei… Where's Hinata-chan?"

Before the one-eyed man could answer, Sakura scoffed. "She's still almost dying… Thanks to you." The girl's cold words struck a nerve in Naruto, who looked up with a nasty glare. But since Sakura had her eyes shut, she continued her snobby rant. "I can't believe you encouraged her to continue, you moron! She was clearly outmatched, but you insisted that she go on. What the hell is wrong with you?" That's when the bratty pinkette opened her eyes. But after she witnessed the light purple gaze of the blond boy, she leapt back in fear.

But that's when the seal started working again. The rage was suppressed, and his eyes turned blue again. Naruto leapt to his feet, and looked at Kakashi. "Where is Hinata-chan, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, trying his best not to look in Neji's direction. But Naruto clenched his fist when Kakashi didn't give his question any acknowledgment. The silver-haired man merely flipped the page in his orange book and continued reading. So Naruto repeated himself. "WHERE IS SHE?" This time he didn't even bother to gradually rise to a yell. But… it seemed to have worked.

Kakashi sighed, and put his perverted book back into his pouch. "Hinata-san is in the emergency room… The doctors haven't given out any further information about her condition. But you're more than welcome to go and visit… seeing as everyone else's matches are over." Confused, he looked around. And after scanning the remaining ninjas, Naruto discovered that both Lee and Chouji weren't there. "They will be choosing who'll be fighting in the next matches."

Naruto sighed, and leapt to his feet. "Tell me who I'm placed against…" Thankfully, Neji was on the opposite side of the balconies. So there wasn't a chance of another _incident_ to arouse like earlier. He dashed down the stairs, across the stadium and busted through the doors to the waiting room. He looked around, and saw Kurenai-sensei and Shino Aburame sitting in the chairs beside the door. Shino was being… well… Shino, as he stayed cool and composed. Kurenai, on the other hand, wasn't. her foot was tapping, as she tried to calm herself. And seeing Hinata's sensei acting nervous made Naruto fear the worst. "Any news?"

Kurenai looked up, and shook her head. "No… they're still trying to get her stable enough to find out what ALL is wrong with her." Naruto looked down, and bit his bottom lip. And while Kurenai was worried to death about the life of Hinata, she was also surprised to see Naruto, the boy the shy girl had admired who hasn't ever given her any attention before was worrying now. But she hid her suspicions, and allowed a small smile to creep onto her face. "Please… take a seat, Naruto." Kurenai nudged her head towards the chair next to her. And after letting out a long, tired groan, Naruto smiled and took the seat. He slumped down into the comfortable waiting room chair, and removed his headband to wipe the sweat from his brow. 'Hmm…. He's stressed too.' Kurenai thought, as she notice Naruto was already tapping his feet impatiently.

The Jonin was about to say something else, when Naruto interrupted. "Sakura is right, Kurenai-sensei… it's my fault Hinata got hurt." Hearing this, both Kurenai and Shino turned to Naruto with strange looks on their faces. What? His fault? "If I hadn't convinced her to continue fighting…. If I hadn't encouraged her to keep from calling the fight, she might not have gotten hurt the way she did…. But now, because of what I told her to do… she's in pain." The two watched in silent awe as they witnessed the normally hyperactive blond boy… holding back tears. "She was in pain the entire match. She was coughing up blood, and gasping for breath…. But I made her fight on. And now…" He paused, squinting his eyes and clenching his pant legs.

That's when one of the doctors came out, with Hinata's blood on his apron. A strong shiver ran down Naruto's spine when the man took off his mask, revealing an unnerving frown. The doctor began before Naruto could even ask. "Hinata Hyuuga is stable… but I need to discus something with you." That statement was aimed at Kurenai. "We scanned her whole body, and found some… _problems_."

Kurenai nod her head, and turned to the two boys behind her. "You two stay here… I'll go with the medics and see how she's doing." Both boys looked at each other, and reluctantly nodded their heads. Naruto watched as Kurenai walked back into the emergency room, smelling the overwhelming stench of medicine… and blood.

So the two sat in complete silence. Even though Shino didn't show it, he was really concerned about his shy teammate. But the Aburame still kept his cool composure, and turned to Naruto. "The assumption that you're the cause of my teammate's critical condition is irrational." Naruto stopped scowling at the floor, and turned to Shino with a raised eyebrow. "You weren't the one who hurt her in the match, Naruto. The only one to blame for Hinata's condition is her cousin, Neji."

But Naruto shook his head. "No, Shino… if I hadn't cheered her on to continue fighting, she wouldn't be here. While Neji was the one who hurt her physically, I was the one who put her in that situation." But again, Shino frowned behind his coat collar and shook his head.

"Naruto… after spending all the time I have with Hinata-san on my team, I know what makes her tick." He countered, in a matter-of-fact kind of way. "You may not know this, but Hinata-san is the only one who seems to listen to you and not mock or put you down… no matter how ridiculous you may sound at times." Normally, Naruto would've been offended at what the boy said. But once he thought back, he realized Shino was right. "And you also might not know this… but Hinata-san also has a self-esteem and shyness problem … which Neji knew about, and used in his advantage during their match."

This came as a surprise to Naruto. He always thought she was just a weirdo who didn't like to talk to people. He didn't suspect she was just shy around EVERYONE, and not with only him. And to be completely truthful, Naruto kind of suspected Hinata was _afraid _of him. Thinking back, he only really noticed her when she was trying to talk to him, and always rambling off in her quiet voice. But now… Naruto learned that the girl he thought was a weirdo was just shy.

Seeing that the slow blond was finally catching up, Shino took a deep breath and continued. "OK. Now, would you say that what you saw during her match displayed anything that I just told you?" Naruto looked to the ground, and thought about it. He learned that before the exams, she apparently had a self-esteem problem. But during her fight, she denied what Neji was telling her. And he also realized that if she had a shyness problem, she wouldn't have fought Neji the way she did.

But now there was a question that Naruto needed to ask. "But why, Shino?" He asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Why did she go on, even though she was being beaten down? Why did she continue just because I cheered for her?"

At first, Shino didn't answer. A sly, all-knowing grin crept onto his face. And thanks the his high collar, Naruto couldn't see it. "Why indeed?" He asked, already knowing the answer. It was funny, in a way. Everyone who knew Hinata knew she had a serious crush on Naruto. But since Naruto is so dense, he never sees the signs. "Maybe when we're able to see her, you could ask her." Naruto frowned, and was about to say something when Kakashi walked in.

"Is she doing any better?" He asked, still using his uncaring voice… which made Naruto madder. When neither boy said anything, Kakashi let out a tired sigh. "I take that as a no." He put his orange book away again, and lazily looked at Naruto. "The opponents have been picked for the elimination matches… which will be held a month from now in the Konohagakure Stadium." At first, Naruto rolled his eyes, uninterested in the match. But Kakashi continued. "Your first opponent will be none other than Neji Hyuuga…"

Now he was interested. Naruto looked up at his sensei with an angry glare. "Yes, Naruto…. You will be going up against him a month from now. So that means you need to learn some new tricks before the match… since you both knows each other's moves now." He then turned to Shino. "You will be going up against Kankuro." The Aburame nodded his head. That's when Kurenai and the doctor walked out together.

"Is she alright?" Naruto blurted out, even though Kakashi was talking about something else. "Can she have visitors?"

Kurenai frowned, and shook her head. "Sorry, Naruto… But she needs to be transferred to the Konohagakure hospital for much needed care. Her internal organs were damaged, and she needs medical supplies that they don't have here…" Naruto looked devastated. So Kurenai pulled off a fake, yet convincing grin. "But she should be able to take visitors in about a day or so, as the doctor told me." But it didn't help Naruto that much.

Seeing as they couldn't really do anything, both Naruto and Shino exited the waiting room and reentered the arena, where all the victorious combatants, minus Sasuke, were at. The remaining fighters were him, Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and that sound Dosu. Sarutobi was finishing up on a speech he was telling the others when Naruto and Shino regrouped with the others. "Oh. Naruto and Shino. So nice to have you join us," the old man said. "I trust Kakashi informed you about the circumstances of the next matches?" Both nodded. "Good." Sarutobi smiled, and turned to the rest. "The rules are going to be the same as this one. But if you refuse to listen to the instructor, it will result in an immediate disqualification…. Is the clear, Neji-san?"

Everyone looked at Neji, who rolled his eyes and nodded. He turned his cold gaze to Naruto, who was sending him a glare that would've scared the large tigers roaming the Forest of Death. Naruto's fists tightened as their eyes locked. But nothing was said… at first. But eventually, Neji took on a smug smile. "Let me guess… you're going to beat me because of what I did to Hinata-sama?" Grinding his teeth, Naruto nodded his head. "Heheheheheeeeee…" A cold chuckle escaped Neji's lips. "Hopefully you will be more of a challenge than my weak cousin."

"You son of a…!" Naruto had enough. He lunged forward, ready to beat the living daylights out of the boy across from him. But luckily, Shino and Shikamaru were there to stop him. Shino dashed forward and hooked his arms across Naruto's shoulders. Shikamaru was there in front of him, to make sure he doesn't advance forward in case he broke free from Shino's hold. "Let me go!" Naruto growled, thrashing to break free from his captors. He didn't care that the others were looking at him with mixed expressions. He was ready for the fight NOW.

But Shino and Shikamaru held him back. "Calm down man…. It's not worth it to fight him now…." Shikamaru groaned, keeping him from pulling away from Shino. "Naruto, believe us, we want a piece of him too…. Even though I never really knew Hinata, what he did was too nasty for me to ignore." Hearing this got Naruto's attention. He stopped struggling with Shino, and looked at Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow. "But it's up to you to fight him… And while I wouldn't mind watching him get canned… I honesty don't think it would be as satisfying beating him down here, instead of in front of a stadium filled with villagers."

A lazy grin appeared on Shikamaru's face, which caused a smile to appear on Naruto's face. "Ahem…?" All of a sudden, everyone heard Sarutobi. They turned to see the Hokage, with his arms folded across his chest and a raised eyebrow. "Is everything alright?" The three looked at each other, and nodded their heads. "Good. Now, unlike this time, you all will be scored on how you fight in your matches by judges. They will determine whether or not you become Chunin. They will be looking at your decision-making abilities, combat skill, etc. so even if you lose the match, you still might have a chance to become Chunin." He paused, and took a sip from his tea. "Is everyone clear on the rules?" Everyone nodded. "Then you all are dismissed. I'll see you all in a month."

To Be Continued…

Hey everybody! How was that? I hope you all enjoyed the fist chapter of what I hope will be a heart-yanking, tear-jerking story I'm going for. So basically, there is more to Hinata's condition than the doctor was letting on. And don't go to Hinote's version. For two reasons: It won't be the same, and it might spoil some things. This story will be slow at some points, since this will be more about Naruto learning about Hinata more than action. But once I have some ideas, I'll try to make a longer story out of this. And in case you didn't get the clue, this will consist Sakura bashing, and maybe some Sasuke bashing. If anyone has any questions, please contact me. If this seems to go by too fast, PLEASE TELL ME. I had to restart two stories because of THAT reason. And please, leave plenty of reviews. And, like I said before, if you have a Hotmail, AIM, or Facebook, contact me so we can talk outside FF. Hope to hear from you soon. PEACE!


	2. New Feelings

Rating: M

Pairing: NaruHina, and more as the story builds up.

Author's Notes: Hello everybody! It's your favorite Alaskan FF writer, Mr. Alaska! I am so sorry that it took me so long to update this story. I have been busy with school and such. Recently, I haven't been getting a lot of time on the computer, since I'm being swamped with homework. But I'm here, and ready to continue this story. As you read in the first chapter, Hinata's match with Neji went as wrong as it could go. She is in critical condition, near to death, and Naruto feels that he is the cause. How is he going to cope with what happened? What happens now? Leave a lot of reviews if you like this. PEACE!

Chapter 2: New Feelings

Naruto couldn't sleep.

He tossed and turned in his bed, struggling to get some sleep. But as hard as he tried, he couldn't. He couldn't get what happened that afternoon out of his mind. He could still see Hinata, with blood pouring out of her mouth. He could still see her body falling and slamming on the ground, with Neji standing over her, evilly smirking. Frustrated, he threw the blankets off her head and looked at the clock. 11:24 pm.

'Maybe I should take a walk,' he thought, throwing the blankets off his body. He sat up, yawned, and slipped on his shoes. He didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas. It was pitch dark outside, and no one should be awake at this time. So, Naruto put on his orange jacket, and walked out.

It was surprisingly cool outside that night, making Naruto glad he brought his coat. The street lights were all lit, brightening the streets. Thankfully, no one else seemed to be out and about like Naruto was. Why would they? Surely no one else was feeling the same stress and guilt as Naruto was feeling right now. "It's all my fault," he mumbled to himself, as he kicked a rock across the street. "If I hadn't convinced Hinata to keep fighting, she would've just lost the match. But now, because of me, she's in a hospital bed."

He continued to walk down the street, alone. He didn't know where he was walking. But he didn't care. He had no where to be tomorrow. Kakashi said he needed to be with Sasuke, to monitor his condition since his match. And since Sakura didn't pass the third part of the exam, she didn't have anything to do either. But Naruto knew she wouldn't want to hang out with him. And quite frankly, he didn't want to hang out with her either. Recently, Sakura's insults and bratty attitude towards him have been getting on his nerves more than usual. He realized that when she blamed him for Hinata's condition. But… was she wrong?

Hinata looked like she was about to withdraw before Naruto interfered. She was willing to quit right there and then. She was willing to give up. But after Naruto started cheering, she continued fighting and almost died because of it. She could have quit. She could have avoided what happened by withdrawing. But because of him, she continued fighting against a opponent who was clearly over her level of fighting skills. "Why did she have to listen to me," he sighed, stopping to take a seat on a nearby park bench.

"She didn't HAVE to listen to you, Naruto. She chose to listen." All of a sudden, a familiar voice came from behind Naruto. The blond boy leapt in surprise when he heard Kurenai's voice. He leapt to his feet, turned, and saw the Jounin leaning against a tree. She wasn't wearing what she normally wore. Instead of her red, white, and black kimono, she was wearing a regular white T-shirt and black slacks. She had on a small, all-knowing smile on her face. "You can't sleep either, I take it?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed, sitting back down on the bench. "Don't know why I'm having problems sleeping tonight. I've spent almost a week in the forest, dodging ninjas, wild animals, and sleeping in trees. I should be relieved to be back in my own bed." Well, that was a pretty big lie. Naruto knew why he couldn't sleep. He knew he has been thinking about Hinata's fight. How she fought her hardest. How she gave it all she got. How she refused to quit, even thought she was losing. He knew why he couldn't sleep. But what he didn't understand was WHY he was so distracted by what happened.

"You have been thinking about what happened with Hinata, haven't you?" Naruto's eyes went wide when Kurenai guessed exactly what has been bothering him. When the boy looked at her in surprise, Kurenai smiled, and took a seat next to him. "I've been told that I have a gift for reading people," she yawned. She then looked back at Naruto. She saw that the normally loud, hyperactive Gennin was now quiet, and looking down at the ground. "What's wrong?" Kurenai asked.

With a remorseful expression of his face, Naruto looked up. "If it wasn't for me, Hinata wouldn't be dying in a hospital," he began, using an uncharacteristically quiet whisper. Right then, Kurenai could tell how much it was affecting him. "It doesn't matter if she had to or chose to listen to me. If I hadn't open my mouth, she wouldn't be in the condition she is in now. She was ready to quit. She was ready to give up. But she listened to me, and paid for it."

Kurenai let out a tired sigh. "Did you hurt her?" she asked, in a matter-of-fact kind of tone. Naruto turned with a raised eyebrow, and shook his head. "Was it your hand that pumped chakra through her heart?" Again, the blond shinobi shook his head. "Naruto, none of this is your fault. I hoped Shino made that clear to you. But I can see he didn't." Kurenai looked down at Naruto with a mix expressions. While she looked tired and annoyed, he could also see some sympathy. "It was Neji who put Hinata into Cardiac Arrest. It was Neji who put her in the hospital. None of it was your fault."

There was a awkward pause after that. Naruto refused to look up from the ground. He merely sat as still as a statue.

"I'm sure Shino blabbed about Hinata's self-esteem issue," she continued, scratching the back of her head. Without looking up, Naruto nodded his head. The temperature began to drop a little, so Naruto zipped up his jacket. Kurenai sighed. "For as long as I can remember, Hinata had a history of quitting. She would always quit when things got hard. She would smile and act like it didn't bother her. But I could see that she was suffering." Naruto listened intently, amazed that Kurenai was telling him this. "But when you cheered for her, I saw a change. I saw the Hinata I've trained and worked with suddenly change into a different person."

Kurenai was about to continue, when she suddenly noticed that Naruto was shaking. She raised a eyebrow at this. First, she figured that he was simply cold from the cool wind. But then she realized he was clenching his pants leg. She couldn't see his face. "Naruto? Are you alright?" She tilted her head so she could see his face. And when she finally did, her eyes went wide with surprise.

Naruto was crying.

His body was shaking because he was trying to keep it from showing. Overcome with sadness, Naruto turned to Kurenai with tear filled eyes. "Why did she listen to me?" he asked, trying his best to keep his composure. "Why would she listen to me, when no one else would? Why would she willingly go into a battle she already knows she couldn't win? Why do I have that kind of influence on her?" Kurenai was blown away by both the fact that Naruto was crying and the questions he was asking her. The only other time Kurenai heard Naruto cry was when Iruka came to his rescue, the night he learned about the Kyubi being inside him.

"I've never gotten to know her, even while we were in the academy," he continued, wiping the tears from his eyes onto his coat sleeve. "I never made an effort to talk to her. I always figured she was scared of me, since she never talked to me or looked me in the eyes. But then I finally realized that she was just shy. And thanks to Shino, I realized that she actually treated me better than my own teammates. She never made fun of my dream, she never called me names or looked at me with hate, and she never did anything hurtful or mean to me. In fact, after I won my match against her own teammate, she gave me a jar of healing cream for my cuts and bruises. Sakura didn't even ask me if I was alright. All she did was blame me for Hinata's condition."

After wiping more tears from his eyes, he continued. "All the times she stammered and mumbled to me, I thought she was weird and ignored her. But I now know she was simply a shy girl who was looking for a friend. But I never noticed. And when I finally figured out all of this, Hinata is sent to the hospital because of what I said. I treated her like a weirdo while she treated me better than anyone else my age. And now I feel like…." He couldn't finish. Naruto started to sob in silence.

All the while, Kurenai wasn't believing what she was hearing and seeing. She didn't know Naruto all that well. All she knew was what people told her. But what she was witnessing and hearing didn't apply to ANYTHING she heard. She was told that Naruto, on good days, was a overactive teenage boy who liked to pull pranks. But here he was, crying for a girl he didn't know much about because she got hurt. He was even openly crying in front of another person. And to Kurenai, those weren't the traits of a hyperactive prankster.

She smiled.

"Don't worry, Naruto," she said, trying to reassure the boy beside her. "If she knew about what you've gone through, she'd forgive you. But I'm pretty sure she'd forgive you either way." Naruto looked up when he heard what the Jounin said. "Hinata is very forgiving." Kurenai smiled, and ruffled the boy's spiky blond hair. "But you can talk to her tomorrow. She's stable now, but visiting hours are over, obviously. So if I were you, I'd head back home and get to bed. Visiting hours are at 10." Then, without another word, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

**(THE NEXT MORNING)**

Naruto's alarm went off at 9:30am. His eyes fluttered open as the sun shone through his curtains and into them. He let out a laud yawn, and sat up. He remembered what happened the night before. He remembered meeting Kurenai and telling her how he felt about this whole situation. Naruto threw the covers off his body and stood up. 'OK. Kakashi is with Sasuke and Sakura is avoiding me. Visiting hours are at 10, so I have a half hour,' he thought, as he flung his T-shirt to the floor. He put on a clean shirt, and put on his orange jacket. He took off his pajamas and slid on his orange track pants.

After brushing his teeth, Naruto walked out the door and locked it behind him.

**(AT THE HOSPITAL)**

Naruto sat in the waiting room in silence. He looked at the clock intently, waiting for it to turn to 10am. He ignored the cold glares and nasty looks sent at him by the workers of the hospital. After 13 years of dealing with them, Naruto finally got used to it. And besides, he was here for a far more important matter than to scare villagers.

Finally, the clock turned 10. He stood up, and walked to the young woman at the front counter. "Umm, ma'am? I'm here to see Hinata Hyuuga. May I please see her?" The woman looked at some charts, scanned it, and turned to Naruto with a smile.

"Room 202. Second floor."

"Thanks," he thanked, before walking down the hall. Once in a while, he met people who didn't completely hate him. But for the most part, he mainly meets villagers who still despise him for no particular reason. But he didn't think about it. He was focused on one thing, and one thing only. And as he walked up the stairs, he happened to look out a window. Down in the recovery yard for patients dealing with physical disabilities, he saw Lee. Lee was doing push-ups, with a cast around his left arm and another one over his right leg. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he continued to walk down the halls, looking for room 202. 'Hmm… I guess Lee got pretty beat up during his match. Maybe I should visit him after I'm done visiting Hinata,' he thought, as he finally came to room 202.

He stood there, right in front of the door. He didn't know what to say. What could he say? What SHOULD he say? Up till now, he rarely even met her, unless it had to do with missions. But after a few minutes of thinking, Naruto took a deep breath, and knocked twice. He heard Hinata cough, then call out to him, saying he could come in.

Naruto walked in.

The room was dim. The curtains were closed, letting in only a small amount of light. The smell of morphine and other medicines stained the air, since Naruto's sense of smell was better than most people's. Then, he turned to the person he was here to see. Hinata laid in her hospital bed, with tubes attached to her arms. There were also bandages wrapped around her forearms. She was hooked up to a heart monitor, which showed her heart-rate. When Hinata saw that it was Naruto who was visiting her, her cheeks suddenly went light pink.

"Umm… N-Naruto-kun?" she squeaked. Her heart rate went up a little on the heart monitor, but not enough to cause any alarm for Naruto. "Wh-what are y-you doing here?" she asked, looking down in nervousness. "Sh-shouldn't you be t-training for the f-finals? Th-they're only a m-month away."

Naruto, now knowing why she's stammering, let out a soft sigh. He then pulled off his original goofy grin and smiled brightly at the Hyuuga girl. "Nah. I can beg Kakashi-sensei for some training later. I came here to see how you were doing."

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!**_

Again, Hinata's heart-rate went up. She started to cough, so she reached for a glass of water. Worried, Naruto stood up. "H-Hinata-chan? Are you okay?" he asked, as Hinata tried to catch her breath. The girl then took a couple of more sips of water. When her coughing fit was down, her cheeks turned to a deeper shade of pink.

"Umm…. Oh… It's a-alright, N-Naruto-kun," she reassured, stammering over her own thoughts and words. "I'm j-just a little weak r-right now. N-Neji-niisan's last a-attack h-hit a couple of o-organs. B-but the doctor s-said I j-just need a m-month of so to r-recover." Naruto let out a sigh of relief, and sat back down.

"Oh. That's a relief," Naruto sighed. "At first I thought something was going terribly wrong. That would have been bad!"

'Oh my God! He cares!' Hinata screamed in her head. Her cheeks stayed at a dark crimson red, as she took another sip of her water.

"You were awesome out there, Hinata!" Naruto chuckled, as he scratched the back of his head. "Even though you lost, you still fought with all you had. If I went up against you, I would've needed A LOT of help." Hinata looked at Naruto in shock. Before her match, he barely talked to her at all. But now, he's visiting her in the hospital, complimenting her on her fighting skills, and showing concern about her well-being. This was proving almost too much for the poor girl. "Hey, Hinata-chan? Can I ask you something?"

Feeling her cheeks warming up, Hinata nodded. "S-sure."

"After I kick Neji's ass in the finals, you think you can train with me? Right now, my Taijutsu skills are a lit…"

"N-no! you c-can't fight N-Neji-niisan!" Hinata shouted, which took Naruto by surprise. "N-Neji-niisan is t-too strong! When I f-fought him, he w-wasn't f-fighting me with a-all he had! And h-he hates you for s-sticking up f-for me! D-don't…" Then, Hinata's heart-rate started to incline. She started to cough, so she went for her water again.

Naruto watched as the Hyuuga girl gulped down the last of her water. And when she got her coughing under control again, Naruto started in a soft tone. "Hinata-chan, don't worry about me," he reassured, as he took her empty glass to the sink and refilled it. Bringing back the refilled glass, he continued. "I know Neji hates me. But I hate him too. For what he did to you. For how he treated you, and especially how he insulted both of us."

That last part struck Hinata with confusion. "H-he insulted y-you too, N-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. While you two fought, he said something that got to me. He said that failures can't change. He thinks that just because somebody's weaker then someone else, they're failures who can't improve. But he's wrong. You proved that when you refused to withdraw…." That's when Naruto remembered something. "Why did you listen to me?" he asked, switching subjects. Hinata's cheeks went red, and she looked down. "Why did you continue fighting Neji, even though you knew you couldn't win? I'm just wondering why you listened to me, when a large percentage of people DON'T listen to me?"

"W-well…. Umm…. Y-you see…. I…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Her heart-rate slowly went up as her eyes met his. She started fiddling with her index fingers, when two more knocks came from the front door. And without asking for permission, Kiba popped his head in.

"Hey! Hinata! You're awake," he said cheerfully, as he, Shino, and Kurenai walked in. "I see Uzumaki beat us to the punch," he chuckled, as he wiggled his eyebrows and gave a thumbs up to his teammate. "You feeling alri…. HINATA?" When she saw the perverted eyebrow wiggle and thumbs up, Hinata went beat red, and fainted. When Kiba and Naruto ran over to inspect the unconscious girl, Kurenai and Shino smiled to themselves, and nodded their heads.

To Be Continued…

I know, I know. This chapter is much shorter than the first chapter. I know. But you all need to understand my situation. I've been working on this chapter for a while because of a few reasons. I've had Writer's Block for a long time, I haven't had enough time to write anything, and I've very busy with school, homework and tests. So, please forgive me. And just so you know, Naruto isn't romantically interested in Hinata yet (obviously). He just really wants to be her friend. The reason this chapter was so sensitive and fluffy is because the future chapters will be a little more serious. I plan on something to go DRASTICALLY wrong halfway through the training month. Anyone have any guesses? Please leave plenty of reviews if you like this chapter. The next update will take a while to come to fruition. So please enjoy. And don't forget to check out all of my other stories, and leave plenty of reviews to tell me what you think about them, too. PEACE!


	3. Discontinued

Attention all readers….

This is going to be hard to tell you. But as of right now, I am no longer going to be updating To Save a Life…. I am terrible sorry. But I have lost interest in it, and am struggling to finish stories as it is. So, I have decided to discontinue this story. But don't worry. This story won't die and be forgotten. I have agreed to give this story to another FanFiction writer. **Hinatasgreatestfan **will continue the story and try to satisfy all your needs for this story. Once again, I am dreadfully sorry that I will no longer be writing this for you. I hope that this doesn't discourage any of you from reading and enjoying my other stories. I am also putting some of my other stories up for adoption. These are stories I have started, but unfortunately, lost interest in and aren't planning on updating.

_**The Two Demons of Konoha**_

_**To Release a Caged Bird**_

_**Resurrection of an Angel**_

_**Valentines Day Miracles**_

_**Toad, the X-Man**_

If anyone else is interested in taking these stories in, PM me. And please spread the word about this update. I hope to hear from y'all very soon.


	4. WARNING

WARNING! WARNING! I WANT ALL READERS TO READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

FanFiction is cracking down! Rated M stories that contain sexual content and/or violence, FanFiction plans on deleting it and/or terminating your accounts! I urge you all! The only rating where stories can have those things is rated MA, but they stopped that rating on 2002! I want you all to go to "Support" and send them an e-mail about how they should reinstate rated MA! Please, for the sake of FanFiction! Help stop the madness!


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